By Brian Trompeter
American Legion Post 270 in McLean recently bestowed honors on four local students who participated in the post’s annual oratorical contest.
Under the direction of master of ceremonies Tony Sarver, contestants delivered prepared orations on the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing the duties and responsibilities of American citizenship.
Contestants also gave speeches on a randomly assigned constitutional topic, which this year was the 25th Amendment, Section 3 of the Constitution, which covers the transfer of executive power from the president to the vice president upon him notifying Congress of his imminent incapacitation.
• Sophia Bongiovi, a Langley High School senior, took take first-place honors in the contest. This was Bongiovi’s second year of taking part in this competition.
Bongiovi won $300 and will represent McLean on Jan. 21 at the 17th District Oratorical Contest in Fairfax, where she will compete against winners of contests in other communities.
Bongiovi’s speech showed how a knowledge of the U.S. Constitution helped a friend of her family in a child-protective-services case. In her speech about the 25th Amendment, Section 3, she surprised the audience by starting with a discussion of the dictatorships in Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the Central African nation of Gabon, neither of which has anything similar to the U.S. Constitution’s 25th Amendment.
“Through her story-telling ability and proven confidence, she persuaded the audience that our 25th Amendment, as simple as it seems, is actually unique in the world, and is one of the things that make our form of government as successful as it is,” Sarver said.
After the competition, Bongiovi recommended that future competitors should “make sure that you maintain confidence. Confidence is the most important attribute in speeches.”
• Tim Hakim, a junior at King Abdullah Academy, took home the second-place prize with a speech about people’s digital footprints and how the concept of privacy has changed since the British used “writs of assistance” to forcibly enter colonists’ homes more than 200 years ago.
In his speech about the 25th Amendment, Hakim made good use of humor and presidential quotes, Sarver said.
Hakim said later that he’d had fun and a good experience in the contest and planned to take part in it again next year.
• Zaina Naffa, a sophomore at King Abdullah Academy, received the third-place prize. Her speech focused on the importance of whistle blowers, using the Pentagon Papers as an example.
“I’m glad I did it, even if I didn’t win,” Naffa said later about the contest.
• Sarah Selim, another sophomore at King Abdullah Academy, took home the fourth-place prize. Her passionate speech about the ongoing violence in Gaza, Iraq and Afghanistan “brought some audience members to tears,” Sarver said.
Selim educated the audience on how Section 3 of the 25th Amendment focused on a planned incapacitation of the president (for upcoming surgery, for example), versus Section 4’s focus, which is on an unplanned incapacitation (such as being shot).
“The American Legion Oratory Contest is a good opportunity to practice speaking on what is important to you, especially when many people in the audience have the power to affect our government,” Selim said.
Bob Wilson, Lynn Anne Mullane and Celeste Gregory of Toastmasters International served as judges for the contest.
Since 1938, the American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program has encouraged the nation’s high-school students to study the U.S. Constitution and to hone their public-speaking skills. For more information, see the Website www.legion.org/oratorical.
